Star Vs The Forces of Evil 2: A Continuation
by Kieran Wespell
Summary: "What other options do we have besides risking the desolation of the entire known universe?" Join Marco and Star as they try to repair a broken heirloom, solve a few mysteries, battle against the forces of evil and perhaps, save the universe from a persistent, undying menace.
1. Cleaved Part 1

**I feel like trying something new. Think of this fic as a Season 2 of Star vs.**

 **Episode 1: Cleaved Part 1**

 **Synopsis: After taking a few moment to reflect on the past, everyone has to move forward. Soon, Star and Marco go on a search for the broken-off wand piece. When word of the broken shard spreads, a race for ultimate power begins.**

 **Special thanks to Sabrina06 for helping me with the story.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Two kids crowded together near a large, jagged boulder; one stood on top of the boulder, the other lingering on the barren ground. One child stood on the ground stared to the side and saw the obscure mirage of a warnicorn spurting towards them. The kid on the rock, a modest, top-heavy boy with blonde, frazzled hair stomped on the surface to grab their attention. The girl turned her head towards the boy.

"Hey, are you listening?" The blonde boy asked. "I'm just about to get to the best part!"

"Ugh, Damian, we've already heard this story before," The redheaded girl in ponytails muttered. "Let me guess, 'Nova swoops in with her all-powerful, royal scimitar, and saves the day'?"

Damian crossed his arms, his lips forming a pout as he tried to hide his gritted teeth. "No Lina, of course not. That'd be too predictable." He took a deep breath, taking some time to exhale it all out in one fell swoop. "No, that day was totally different. For you see, Nova Butterfly's battle doesn't end there."

Lina rolled her eyes. "Figures."

Damian extended both hands out towards the two. "Lina, grab on." She grabbed onto Damian as he pulled her up onto the boulder. Damian crossed one arm over his chest, his fist positioned as though he were holding a sword. "So as the Orc charged towards Nova, she slashed the air like this"—with his one arm, Damian slashed the air diagonally, making sure he mouthed out a swishing noise along the way—"and the Orc fell on his back, taken out with a single strike."

Damian teetered down, landing on the surface of the boulder on his back. "Ow."

Lina peered-in closer. "Okay, and then..."

Damian hopped back up. "And then, as she bent down to pick up the bag of gold the Orc had stolen, she looked up and well…" He pointed down the field. "You see how far the field goes. As Nova stood here, she saw the whole army of Orcs"—He spread his hands across the horizon—"cover the entire field, ready to fight. Lina, we're standing on the same spot Nova did before she took on a horde of Orcs. How cool is that?"

"Heh." Lina drifted her eyes down to the surface of the boulder. "Never heard this part of the story before."

"We're standing on top of history, Lina." Damian let out a hollow chuckle. "You know, when any other Mewman sees a horde of Orcs coming, they'd probably just run away and let the army take care of it." Damian stood up straight and tall, crossing his arm over his chest. "Not Nova. That's not the way she rolls." He turned towards the open field, setting himself up for a running start. "As the horde charged towards her, she hopped off this boulder"—Damian jumped off, slashing the air with his imaginary sword—"and she cut down every Orc in front of her."

Damian bellowed out a roar as he pierced his empty surroundings, imagining every Orc falling on its back. He grunted with every sword slash. In his reveling stupor, he imagined the unconscious Orcs pile together into a hill of bodies. In this moment, he was 'Nova', a hero from legends.

Lina stared at Damian, head tilted to the side.

When Damian looked over to a confused Lina, he pulled himself out of his own stupor. Damian pushed himself back on the boulder. He let out a dry cough into his fist. "Anyways, it took a while, but eventually, every Orc in the vicinity fell to Nova's scimitar, each of them bruised, bleeding and begging for mercy." Damian lips molded into a huge smile.

"Heh," Lina muttered. "I guess it wouldn't be much of a story if she was mauled on the spot."

Damian looked over to Lina and said, "You know, some might say that taking down an army of Orcs is enough put you in the Royal Mewni Hall of Fame, with your picture to be hanged next to other heroes, forever remembered. But to Nova, taking down a horde is just a regular afternoon for her."

Lina peered up to the sky for a moment, thinking. "Hey Dame, you always keep banging on about how Nova was totally real and stuff, right?"

"Well, yeah, she totally is," he replied.

"If that's true, then why don't we ever see her picture in the Mewnian hall of fame?"

As Damian was about to open his mouth, he instinctively silenced himself, unable to find a suitable answer. "Well, uh," Damian stammered. "She… uh… she was probably busy, yeah. Probably busy dealing with other forces of evil, or something, you know?"

Lina let out a low groan. "Or maybe she isn't as real as you believe she is."

"What," Damian yelled. "Come on, she's totally real. Ask my grandpa, he's he used to see her all the time. And he always has these cool stories about her, stuff you can't make up."

"This is also the same guy that keeps going in-and-out of my mom's restaurant every day for eight hours straight," Lina replied.

"Yeah, but still." Damian's lips quivered a bit. "She was real! Nova Butterfly, heir to the Mewnian throne, the legendary sword master. Doesn't it ring a bell?"

Lina took a moment to think. Then she shook her head. "Not at all."

Damian pouted and let out a heavy, bitter sigh.

A warnicorn charged past the kids by the boulder, the rider screaming and struggling to ride it.

Lina nudged Damian on the shoulder and pointed to a girl in a turquoise dress trying to keep up with the warnicorn. "Speaking of Butterflies, here comes one now."

Star Butterfly sprinted as fast as she could, dragging a burly Latino man in a knight's armor with her.

"Come on, Marco and Mr. Diaz, we have to hurry before the warnicorn runs off!" Star said.

A boy struggling to put on a red hoodie gasped for air, trying to keep up with the Mewnian princess. "Can't we just wait until it gets tired or something?"

"It doesn't!" Star thought about it for a second as she was running. "At least, not for several hours."

* * *

Star didn't mind dragging two-hundred and fifty pounds of metal and flesh as she dashed across the field. In fact, she was more than happy to help out Mr. Diaz as the aging man couldn't keep up with the spunky, energetic girl. Besides, she's had to carry heavier things in the past, physically and emotionally.

Mr. Diaz, on the other hand, felt the armor dig into his skin as he was pulled across the ground. He gritted his teeth at the sensation of metal gnawing into his legs began to overpower everything else. Still, he considered this a much better alternative over sprinting while wearing a suit of thick, heavy armor.

Marco managed to tug the last sleeve of his red, slightly dishevelled hoodie on. After going several hours without his trademark hoodie, Marco let out a light sigh, as he seemed to ease up a bit. He coughed and sputtered for breath immediately after, as his legs flared up horrifically.

"Star," Marco pleaded, "I don't think we can catch up. Can we just let the Mewni guards take care of it?"

Star stared down the barren, empty fields, watching as the warnicorn galloped further and further away, along with Mrs. Diaz. "Don't sweat it Marco, we can totes catch up with it." She picked up her pace, running faster and faster. "Just gotta keep the legs movin', right?"

Marco's legs flared with growing intensity. A cramp struck him behind the thigh, stiffening the leg like stone. "I'm not sure how long that'll last," Marco said, his voice strained.

The warnicorn blazed forwards into a dense forest.

"Not much longer, Marco," Star said, "we'll cut it off at the Forest of Dres'kathar!"

Marco squinted as he looked towards the forest. "Huh?"

"It's ancient Mewnish for Eternal Despair and Damnation."

Marco's jaw slacked slightly. "Lovely."

Star beamed "I know, right? It's much livelier than that other Forest of Death." Star chucked Mr. Diaz to the side, banging him on the side of a tree. "Sorry Mr. Diaz, I can't carry you inside."

Mr. Diaz whimpered as he meekly raised a hand. "I'm alright." He collapsed on the ground.

Star and Marco set foot into the forest, feeling various leaves, twigs and bits of vine crushed under their feet. Marco looked ahead, barely able to see the path ahead through the overgrown vines and decayed, rotting branches hanging throughout the vicinity. In the corner of his eye, he swore he saw something hiss at him. It vanished deeper into the overgrowth.

"Man," Star muttered, "this place brings back some really good memories."

A long, verdant vine snapped in front of Marco. Marco sidestepped the vine and kicked it away. "Oh really?" Marco asked incredulously. "What kind?"

"Well, one time, me and Ponyhead found a massive orc sleeping in the middle of the forest. She thought it would be a good idea to prod it with her horn."

"Yeah, I can see that happening." Marco dropkicked a vine that shot out to him from the ground. Another vine flew in from behind.

"Next thing I know, me and Ponyhead start booking it out of the forest, screaming our lungs out."

Marco's screams filled Star's ears.

"Yeah, just like that. Wait…" Star's eyes widened. When she looked up, she gasped as she saw a vine drag Marco into the air. "Hold on, Marco, Star's coming!"

Star grabbed onto one of the vines and bit on it. Without warning, the vine soared above the treeline, an arms-length away from Marco. She clutched onto a squirming Marco, pulling him down to the ground along with her. They struck the ground with a hard thud.

Marco pushed himself back up. "Thanks Star."

"I gotcha Marco," Star assured. "Now, where did your mom and the warnicorn go?" With a quick glance, Star saw the warnicorn and Mrs. Diaz just in front of them, slowed down by the moderate, verdant vegetation. "Found them, Marco! They're just a few steps ahead of us." A bunch of vines wrapped around Mrs. Diaz and the Warnicorn enmasse. They vanished into the air. Star clutched Marco's wrist. "Hurry Marco!"

"We're not gonna catch up with them!" Marco said. "Unless…" He dragged Star along as he rushed for one of the vines on the trees. He tore one of them off with his foot. The vine grabbed Marco by the foot and launched him and Star into the air. Above the treeline, they saw a cluster of vines all wrapped around one thing. When the bundle of vines tumbled back down, Star pulled Marco along and dove for the bundle of vines.

"Hang on!" Star pleaded.

As soon as Star had a firm grasp, she, Marco and the bundle plummeted towards the forest grounds. When they struck the ground, everyone rolled along the ground, barely skidding by the edge of a chasm. Mrs. Diaz and the warnicorn bumped next to Star and Marco, almost rolling them into the deep abyss.

Everybody struggled to stand back up, legs wobbly, heads spinning.

"Welp, looks like everyone's alright—"

The warnicorn rose up in an instant, giddying-up and letting out horrifically loud neighs.

"Woah." Marco nearly teetered into the abyss. He fell backwards, landing on the soft patch of grass. Marco let out a deep, much-needed breath.

"Hey!" Star yelped. "Calm down, boy, relax." The warnicorn planted itself on all fours, stopping himself. Star swiped across her forehead, wiping the sweat off her brow. "That, was a close one, eh Marco?"

Sitting up, Marco let out a dry chuckle. "When has it ever not been?" Marco peered over the edge of the abyss, staring down the massive crevice extending horizontally throughout the forest. He couldn't see anything through the darkness as the pitch-black pit seemed to absorb and grasp every remnant of light that tried to shine through. "Uh, Star, why is there a seemingly, bottomless crevice in the middle of the forest?"

"Oh this?" Star clarified, pointing to the crevice. "This is the Dres'kethar Abyss." She stuck her fist underneath the roof of her mouth while tilting her eyes upwards. "Apparently, some ultimate battle for the fate of the universe took place in this forest, yada yada yada, they made a big crack in the earth and everyone fell into it."

Star edged Marco and Mrs. Diaz closer to the deep daunting void. The warnicorn also huddled in.

"Some say, when you step into the abyss, you step into a new dimension. An inescapable dimension of death, despair and some other D-word I can't think of off the top of my head."

Marco and Mrs. Diaz stared in awe above the abyss. Mrs. Diaz especially couldn't keep her eyes away from it.

"Has anyone ever gotten out?" Mrs. Diaz asked.

"Eh, probably not," Star replied with a shrug.

For a brief moment, everyone perched above the abyss. Then Marco lifted himself up, dusting off his skinny jeans as he gave a hand to both Star and his mother. "Well, I think that's enough staring into an abyss of despair, I think it's time to get back to the castle." He lifted Star and Mrs. Diaz up. "Besides, I think Star gave Dad a concussion on the way into the forest."

Star brushed it off. "Oh he's fine, Marco. Don't let that pretty little face of yours worry so much. The castle has the best doctors in all of Mewni. Only one in two people actually die… on average!" Star made a massive grin.

"Ehh, I don't really like the odds of that," Marco said.

"What? Are the Earth doctors any better?" Star asked.

"Actually, yeah. In fact, the mortality rate for concussion on Earth is…"

The group began to trek across the forest, making their way back home. As they went, they moved further away from the abyss; the deep, bottomless crevice scarred across the forest floor.

* * *

On the other side of the mirror, Queen Butterfly pulled the wand up closer to her eyes. Half of the Star insignia broke off, leaving an empty half on the head of the wand. The other cracked half of the Star was deeply jutted in.

"Yup," Glossaryk answered. "That looks like one cleaved wand to me. And in the bad, separated sorta way, not like cleaved together." He pulled up a string of floss from underneath, stringing it behind the two top teeth. "You guys have already found all the pieces right?"

"Star just gave us the wand like this," King Butterfly replied. "We honestly have no clue where any missing pieces could be."

"Well, the 54th and the Diazes found them on near the Banished regions." The Queen stared at the empty half of the wand. "The shard has to still be there," the Queen deduced.

"Banished regions?" Glossaryk raised an eyebrow. "What were those two doing there in the first place?"

King Butterfly shrugged. "Who knows? None of the other monsters were available for questioning. They all seemed to have ran off. And Ludo was nowhere to be found."

"Ludo?" Glossaryk scraped along his beard. "Oh yeah, that little turd. He and his father were always so annoying. I guess Star and Marco managed to get rid of them somehow, along with wrecking the wand. We should congratulate her!"

"That's not the point, Glossaryk," Queen Butterfly muttered. She laid her eyes on the cracks along the edge of the star. Her heartbeat rose any extra beat. The Queen took a deep breath and tried to plaster a stoic expression on her face. "In any case, perhaps, we should look into a few _alternate_ punishments for Star's recklessness," the Queen suggested.

King Butterfly's eyes widened. "Hey, now, let's not get too hasty, Moon. We don't need to send her off _there,_ this was just a mistake on her—"

"We'll discuss it later, River." With a snap of her fingers, two guards appeared by their side. "In any case, we should begin a search party for the broken shard. Let's set one up immediately."

"As you wish, Moon." King Butterfly began to walk out, motioning the guards to follow him. "Let's go gentlemen, we have a search party to form." The trio of men headed off, closing the door on the way.

Glossaryk kept quiet for a moment, after a few moments King Butterfly left. "There's something I wanted to mention, Moon."

"What is it?"

"I don't think Star cleaved her wand over a reckless accident," Glossaryk said. "I thought the wand would be idiot-proof enough to prevent something like that from happening."

"You're right, Glossaryk, I know it couldn't have been an accident." The Queen perused the wand, brushing her finger against the cracked edges of the broken heart. "I only know of one way to damage the wand this badly."

"You mean the _whisper spell?_ "

"Yup." Queen Butterfly nodded. She remembered the days they spent, memorizing every word of the incantation. And every single day she always reminded Star to only recite it in the direst moments. And perhaps…

"Do you mind if I humour you with a few hypotheticals, Moon?" Glossaryk asked.

Queen Butterfly rolled her eyes. "Oh, why not?"

"Let's assume that the whisper spell had to have been used to cleave the wand to this extent. Star wouldn't recite the spell, willy-nilly. Anyone with half a brain wouldn't. What if ... someone forced Star to use the whisper spell? Perhaps, they bargained with Star in exchange for the wands destruction."

The Queen tilted her head to the side.

"Maybe that's why Marco Diaz is here. He was that which was bargained."

"I thought about that." Queen Butterfly gripped the wand even tighter. "But that's impossible. This was supposed to be a secret between me and my daughter. No one else should know of the spell's existence."

Glossaryk lowered himself on the floor, crossing his legs. "Let's assume that the whisper spell had to have been used to cleave the wand to this extent. Do you remember those long, soul-crushing nights in the study, Moon? You didn't conjure the spell alone. You had help."

"Come on, Glossaryk, don't be foolish. You know the only other person besides you and Star that knows about the whisper, is de…" Queen Butterfly hesitated.

"Let's assume that the whisper spell had to have been used to cleave the wand to this extent."

"Or is he…" Queen Butterfly's eyes widened. For a moment, Queen Butterfly didn't catch a breath. "If that's the case…" Her heart skipped a beat. "No, no, no, no, no…"

Glossaryk pouted. "Let's assume that the whisper spell had to have been used to cleave the wand to this extent." He laid his eyes on Queen Butterfly. "I think you know the answer"

The Queen dropped to her knees "…no, no, no! Why now?!"

Glossaryk crossed his fingers together and rested his chin on his knuckles. "I told you, you should've double checked to make sure _he was actually dead._ "

On the other side of the door, King Butterfly took his ear from the frame. King Butterfly rushed off, confused.

* * *

"Oh my gosh, Star, this looks absolutely scrumptious," Mrs. Diaz said, salivating a bit.

Star set the sandwich on the table. Everyone stared at the layers of ham, roast beef and other meats stacked between two pieces of freshly-baked rye. A sheet of dark green lettuce and several thin slices of tomatoes were neatly placed on top of the tantalizing meats. Mr. Diaz noticed a bit of mustard dripping off the side. His tongue instinctively flopped over, bits of saliva pouring out from his tongue.

"Well, they don't call this 'the best sandwich place in Mewni' for no reason." Star took a seat in front of Marco. "You guys help yourselves to whatever you want, the owners pretty cool with me."

Mr. and Mrs. Diaz hopped out of their seats in delight, darting their eyes to the main counter. "Don't mind if we do, Star." They rushed to the counter with empty-stomachs, ready to devour everything in sight.

Marco also stood up from his seat, until a familiar hand planted itself over his. He looked over to the other side of the table and noticed Star holding his hand.

"Wait, Marco. I need to talk to you," Star pleaded.

Marco raised an eyebrow. Going by Star's distant, semi-serious expression, Marco pulled his chair back out and sat down, ready to listen. "What's up, Star?"

"There's uh, something I wanna say." She let out a short, pained breath, forcing the lump in her throat down. Star saw the sandwich from the corner of her eye. "I meant to tell you this earlier, but then you got kidnapped and it kinda got lost in the mix, you know?" Star tried her best to maintain her composure, but it seemed impossible to stop the shaking.

Marco leaned in a bit closer. "What is it?"

Star looked Marco straight in the eye. "I'm sorry I snapped at you over that sandwich earlier," she said, voice cracking. "I understand you were just trying to keep us both alive." She backed up reflexively, peeking down to the ground. "I guess, I got… really carried away with the stupid sandwich."

Marco took one of the slices from the plate. "Eh, I don't really mind, Star. We got a sandwich right here." He bit down on the sandwich, tearing the layers of meat into his mouth.

Star choked out a chuckle. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess we do."

Marco swallowed the layers of meat and rye, coughing a bit as it all slid down his esophagus. "And besides, I appreciate what you did for me back at Ludo's castle. I'm surprised your mom didn't ship you of to St. O's immediately."

"Yeah, I was kinda surprised by that too." Star scratched the back of her head. "Well, it was really the least I can do honestly. I mean, I couldn't leave my bestie with a bunch of monsters. It wouldn't be right." Star laid her head on the table, pouting and clutching the sleeve of her dress tight. In the back of her head, Star wondered what was going on with the wand. "I really made a mess of things today."

Marco slid the plate next to Star. She looked up and saw the slice "Hey, we both messed up pretty hard." Marco slipped a reassuring grin towards Star. "Mess-up twins for life?"

Star took a quick glance at Marco, then back at the lone slice on the plate. She picked up the sandwich, cracking a smile.

"Mess-up twins for life."

She devoured the sandwich, ripping chunks of roast beef and ham from the sandwich. She kept chewing on it, savouring the saltiness of the ham, as well as the flavourful juiciness of the other combined meats. As she swallowed it all, she could feel the tangy mustard rub down her esophagus. "This tastes a lot better than the sandwich we got from the Blowtoad."

Marco shrugged. "I wouldn't know."

"I still have what's left of it back in my room."

"Still?" Marco asked, raising an eyebrow. "Isn't it like, covered in sand, dirt and other icky stuff?"

"Yeah… but, it's there if you wanna try…"

"Nah," Marco replied. "I think I'll stick with this sandwich, instead." With only a bit of sandwich remaining, Marco shoved the remnants in his mouth, savouring every last bit. He picked up a napkin and wiped the edges of his mouth. As he felt something rise from his throat, he covered his mouth with his fist, belching out a bit. "Man that hit the spot."

"Yup," Star replied, "Nothing beats a good sandwich on a quiet, peaceful—"

Shrill cries pierced the air. Star glimpsed over to the side. It caught Marco's attention as well.

A trio of rough, stocky boys dressed in black ran towards the restaurant. One of them carried a Mewnian-designer purse with gold dripping onto the ground.

"Help, somebody!" a lady with a fine, silk hat pleaded, "those ruffians took my purse!"

Star rose from her seat. "Welp, peace and quiet was overrated anyways."

Marco did the same. "I've always wanted to stop a mugging in progress."

Star cracked her knuckles; the popping sound made Star smile.

"Let's do this."

Marco and Star rushed past the other guards running their way to the thugs.

Tunneling towards the thug with the handbag, Star hopped up in the air and drop kicked the thug to the ground. Star slid on top of him as he skidded against the ground. The thug struggled to lift himself up, collapsing flat on the ground.

"I'll be taking that, thank you," Star said, grabbing the bag.

Another thug charged behind her, before Marco hook kicked him to a nearby wall.

"Ow." As the thug slid down to the ground, a massive crack on the wall formed.

"Not bad, Marco." Star chucked the purse behind her head, knocking the last thug down hard. The bag actually bounced of his head and Star caught it with ease.

Marco chuckled a bit. "That was pretty easy."

One of thugs groaned as he crawled towards Marco. Marco pushed him on his back, stopping him there.

All the nearby villagers gave the two a jaunty round of applause, including the guards.

The lady in the fine hat sauntered up to them, squealing and giggling. "Thank you so much!"

"It's our pleasure," Marco replied. Star nodded in agreement.

"OH SWEET MEWNI!" Another villager screeched.

Marco and Star looked down the street. A goblin thrashed around, smashing stalls, slamming on the sides of buildings and striking down villagers. Star careened her neck, embracing that satisfying pop.

"Just one goblin?" Star said, raising an eyebrow. "I've taken on hordes since I was like, six."

Marco and Star charged towards the goblin. Star pounced on the goblin first, only to get elbowed in the back in response. Marco swung a hook to the side. The goblin stared at Marco, bemused, as he caught Marco's fist with his palm.

Marco's eyes widened.

Not even a moment later, Marco found himself crumpled on top of Star.

"Ow," Star muttered.

"Looks like we're in for a real fight, Star," Marco remarked.

"Oh Star," a regal, commanding, yet feminine voice called out.

Nearby, the Queen and King had arrived. King Butterfly targeted the goblin, raising his fists.

The Queen blocked him off. "Please take your wand back, your father and I finished cleaning it up." Queen Butterfly ambled towards the battle in progress, holding the wand in her hand. "Let's see if you've learnt better control, Star." The Queen tossed the wand over to Star. "Show me what you're capable of!"

"Well, never mind, we got this, Star." Marco said.

Star slid through Marco. "Yeah we do." She ran for the flying wand. The goblin did as well. She shoved him to the side and caught the wand in her right hand.

Two beams of lights twisted together in a helix loop along the wand, bursting in an explosion of colour. The half-star insignia beamed underneath the sun.

Star channeled the energy of the wand, twirling it in her hand.

Marco was taken aback by the teal-glow on Star's irises.

"Radiant Beauty Burst!"

The star insignia twinkled. White light discharged in a single blast.

For a moment, everyone went blind.

As the light cleared up, Queen Butterfly coughed out dust. "Just as I suspected."

Everyone in the vicinity coughed out some dust.

The wind blew the ashen remnants of the goblin.

The sandwich shop–and by extension, the rest of the block—was blown away by the wind as well, smoldering ash flying through the air.

"Ohhhh…" Star lingered, shuffling away slightly, "that's… not supposed to happen…"

* * *

 **To be continued...**


	2. Cleaved Part 2

**Hey everybody. Finally got this chapter finished. Sorry for being late with it, university stuff keeps eating up time.**

 **Episode 1: Cleaved Part 2**

 **Synopsis: After taking a few moment to reflect on the past, everyone has to move forward. Soon, Star and Marco go on a search for the broken-off wand piece. When word of the broken shard spreads, a race for ultimate power begins.**

 **Special thanks to Sabrina06 for helping me with the story.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Into the late hours of the night, she barely budged an inch away from her chair, slaving away every last second into scribbling on the page. She didn't notice a friend come through the door._

 _"Can't you just leave it be for tonight? It's depressing seeing you confined in your study day-in and day-out."_

 _"What other choices do we have? Ugh, we're wasting time idly chatting right now."_

 _He let out a sigh before walking up to her. He set a pot of tea on the birch-wood desk, the ring on his middle finger clinking on the porcelain._

 _"In that case, let me help you…"_

 _She turned over and stared blankly at him for a moment. Then, she returned her attention to the page on the desk._

 _She slid a book with a cover written in Ancient Mewnish in front of him._

 _He picked up the book, peering over to his exhausted friend. He placed a hand on her as she was about to collapse on the table. Perhaps it would've been better that way, let her rest up a bit. But he knew she wouldn't like that at all._

 _He opened the book to the first page. "Where did we leave off last time?"_

* * *

Mr. and Mrs. Diaz waited by the edge of the castle. Mrs. Diaz tried to listen in, curious as to what was going on inside. Mr. Diaz leaned next to the wall, coughing out the traces of soot still stuck in his throat.

Queen Butterfly took a deep breath. She stood over Star and Marco with arms crossed and a serious, stony expression painted on her face. She kept her eyes sternly glued towards Star. At this moment, Queen Butterfly tried her best to keep the nagging, worrying and sinking feelings in the back of her mind from bursting out. Judging by Star's fidgeting, the Queen believed it was working.

Star couldn't help twisting and twiddling her foot repeatedly as her mother stared down on her with such oppressive eyes. She held her wand behind her back, fidgeting around with family heirloom.

Marco stood by Star, his eyes darting back-and-forth between the Queen and his best friend. He coughed into his fist, expelling specs of soot and dust from his throat.

Star drew in a deep breath, ready to speak. "Can I just say, that at the very least, no one actually got hurt back there?"

"Except for an orc," Marco chimed in.

Star corrected herself. "Oh yeah, except for the orc, he's super dead." She kept kicking the dust scattered around the floor. "But, hey, I, uh, at least got rid of the monster, like, you…" Star kept murmuring incoherently to herself, "…asked me too…"

"I asked you to control the wand," Queen Butterfly said. "Not level a portion of my kingdom."

* * *

Meanwhile, King Butterfly shuffled backwards as the sandwich shop owner lashed out at him.

She hovered over King Butterfly, leaning over him, forcing him to bend over backwards. "…the building itself costed a fortune! Plus I have to purchase new equipment, shipments of food, among other things like…"

King Butterfly held his hands over his body. "Yes, yes, we will gladly compensate you for all materials Star damaged, as well as provide you with extra gold. You only have to ask. Just give us some time…"

Lina tugged the owner by the hem of her dress. "Mommy, are we homeless now?"

King Butterfly's eyes widened. "No, no, no, no," King Butterfly muttered, desperately forming a reassuring smile, "you are absolutely not homeless."

* * *

Star cringed, gritting her teeth. "It was just an accident…"

Queen Butterfly kept staring at Star, her expression unchanging. "Oh, I know. I'll be honest, I had a feeling the wand wouldn't function properly." She trotted down from her throne, making her way to the mirror on the far wall.

"But, to be sure, let me ask a fellow expert on this." She pushed the button on the underside of the mirror. The entire reflection filled with static for a moment, before it cleared up, showing a crystal-clear, high-quality image of Glossaryk passed out on the floor surrounded by cups of chocolate pudding.

"Igh," Marco muttered, flinching a bit.

"I'm not cleaning any of that," Star said, pointing at the puddle of chocolate around Glossaryk.

Queen Butterfly sighed before wrapping a fist on the mirror. She knocked on the glass multiple times, each one getting progressively louder.

Glossaryk let out a gasp before flopping in the puddle, splashing globules of pudding. "Again, seriously?" He mouthed out, drowsily. As he yawned, he stretched his arms out. Glossaryk unintentionally showed off the chocolate pudding coating his armpit hair.

Marco covered his mouth before the bile inevitably spewed out.

"Sorry to bother you again, Glossaryk, seems like you're a bit busy," Queen Butterfly said, trying her best to hide her disgust. "But something came up." She peered towards Star. "More specifically, Star did something, ehm, unexpected. And it'd be nice if you came back for a moment."

Glossaryk let out a belch. "Of course I'll be there, just give me a few moments"—Glossaryk slid beneath the mirror's view, and popped up right beside Marco, using a handkerchief to wipe away the little bits of pudding still stuck in his beard—"and I'll be right with you."

"Hi Glossaryk," Star greeted, waving at him.

Marco turned over to the blue, genie-like being that floated next to his head. He pointed in all directions, stammering a bit as he observed Glossaryk in front of him. "Wait, what. But you were just—"

"I always come when I'm needed," Glossaryk said, tapping Marco on the shoulder. "Now, my Queen, what seems to be the matter?"

"It seems like Star has lost control of the wand," Queen Butterfly said.

Glossaryk snickered under his breath. "You say that like she had control in the first place."

"Hey!" Star interjected. "It wasn't my fault!" Star hesitated for a moment, mulling over her next word. " _Not_ _entirely_."

"Yeah, the wand wouldn't do that normally," Marco added.

"If the wand was in one-piece, that might be the case, my dear Marco." Glossaryk floated down to the wand, examining the empty space the cleaved half created. "But since we're dealing with a broken wand the circumstances are different. That missing portion creates some interesting outcomes. Preferably, the missing piece would just weaken the wand immensely. Make sense, right? Half a power source should only work half as well."

Glossaryk stared out the window, looking over the village street. Or at least, it's charred, blackened remains, swept away by the blowing wind. All that's left was the barren, desolate ground and a middle-aged villager crying over the ashes of his stall.

"But, I don't think that's the right answer."

"Ya think," Queen Butterfly sneered.

"In that case, then the cleaved piece must have been an inhibitor. A sort of power-limiter that's supposed to prevent this sort of thing from ever happening." Glossaryk veered his eyes towards Star. "And you blew it off."

"Ehhhhh, yeah…" Star looked off to the side, letting out a mix between a forced chuckle and an unassuming humming noise.

"So now what?" Marco and the Queen asked simultaneously. Marco noticed, gasping at the Queen, while she looked on, rather expressionless.

"Well, the wand's still working, so Star's free to use it to her heart's desire," Glossaryk said. "Sure, she might level a city, an entire kingdom and perhaps, the possibility of collapsing the entire universe in on itself, but at least the wand is still functional, right everybody?"

Queen Butterfly had her arms crossed, fingers impetuously tapping the sides. She had a sharp, tightening pout formed along her lips, as if she was sucking on something extremely bitter. "What other options do we have besides risking the desolation of the entire known universe?"

"Get that shard back," Glossaryk said. He stared at his jagged, unkempt, cracked nails and dry heaved a bit. He pulled a nail file out of his sleeve, rubbing it along the top of his nails. "It's somewhere near Ludo's castle, so go find it and then we can work on actually fixing the wand."

"Easier said than done, my dear Glossaryk," Queen Butterfly muttered. She let out a deep sigh, and walked off toward the doors. "That said, I'll begin making preparations for the expedition. Star get some rest, we'll be leaving soon. Manfred, get the boy…"

Star's ears perked up. "An expedition?"

"Yes, to find the cleaved-off shard."

Glossaryk continued to file his nails. "Yeah, it's probably a good idea to find that shard ASAP. Someone could create their own makeshift wand with that shard."

Marco's ears picked up some rustling noises behind him. He waved it off, dismissing it.

Star grabbed Marco by the collar, pulling him closer to herself. "Can Marco come too? He was with me when the whole wand explode-y thing happened. He could probably help out."

Queen Butterfly stopped moving and stood still. "Ehm, well…"

Marco set himself up in a standard karate stance, methodically punching and hook kicking the air. "I can totally defend myself."

"Yeah," Star exclaimed, "Marco's, like, a master at Karate."

"A blue-belt, actually," Marco corrected.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, alright," Queen Butterfly said. "We're not doing anything dangerous." She turned around and began trotting out, peering over her shoulder. "Perhaps it would be nice for Star to have some company." Queen Butterfly didn't take her eyes off Marco until she made it out of the chamber. She closed the door behind her.

"Yeah, yeah it would." He forced out a bitter laugh. Marco tugged slightly on his collar, swallowing hard.

Star tangled Marco in her arms.

"Expedition Buddies!"

Neither Star nor Marco noticed the muted footsteps pattering inside the room.

* * *

Buff Frog winced in pain as the debris of pine needles and jagged rocks cluttering the area pressed against the soles of his feet. It didn't help that the fountain on his back pushed his legs deeper to the ground, jamming the debris deeper.

Taking a deep, pendulous breath with each step, Buff Frog trudged on as the weight of the fountain kept pushing him to the ground. A spasm shot through his back. His eyes twinged as the shock wrapped around his spine. He stiffened on the spot, hyperventilating the pain away. A part of him wanted to keep the fountain where it was and pass out on the forest floor, at least for a little bit to catch his breath. Then, he stared at the tadpoles crowded inside the fountain, with their big, glowing eyes with the pleading look in them.

Buff Frog bellowed out a sigh, cracking a small grin. "That's right, I still need to find you guys somewhere better to grow up." He pushed himself up off the ground and lifted the fountain back on his back.

"There's bound to be an even better place for my babies." And so, Buff Frog hobbled down the forest, bearing thousands of tadpoles on his back. He didn't care how long it took, so long as the spot was perfect. Eventually, he stopped and settled the fountain in a nice clearing in the forest. He backed away a bit, staring at the fountain and the trees behind it. He wiped the sweat of his brow with the back of his hand, drenching it.

"Let's see." Buff Frog placed a hand over his eyes and looked around the forest. "Far enough from mainland Mewni, decent shading..." He pushed the fountain closer to one of the trees. Buff Frog made a crisp nod. "Seems like an excellent place to raise a family."

A fly hovered over him, milling around in front of him. Buff Frog flicked his tongue out, snaring it. He swallowed it whole, his lips curving into a wide smile.

"Each and every last one of you will have bright futures ahead." Buff Frog knelt down on the ground. He gently tapped the closest tadpole on its forehead. "I guarantee that." He pointed to a tadpole with a green outline rimming its iris. "Especially you, Vladimir, I see great things ahead for you."

The little tadpole let out a tiny little 'meep' in reply.

A pile of leaves further away crunched under someone's step. And then another one echoed in the still air. Each step rang inside Buff Frog's ear. He swiveled his eyes left and right. Buff Frog growled under his breath. He already had his fair share of life-and-death situations earlier. It seemed a little too early for another one.

The ground felt soft underneath his feet. Soft enough to lay his head down and take a quick nap. Even so, Buff Frog caught a glimpse of his helpless tadpoles, eyes wide as saucers, shining and bleary.

"They'd do the same…"

Buff Frog pushed the fountain into a thick bush. For extra precaution, he collected extra piles of leaves and covered any exposed holes and openings the bush failed to conceal.

"…I guess I have to as well."

As soon as the entire fountain was enveloped by the vegetation, he pulled himself up into one of the trees. He climbed higher and higher, stopping at a branch covered in leaves. Buff Frog practically blended right in. He crouched down and stared down the far reaches of the forest.

A Mewman, decked in armor, marched down the path. He had his spear brandished in front of him. He was heading towards the fountain.

Buff Frog placed his hands outwards, ready to pounce on the soldier. The sight of another soldier caught his eye as he nearly leapt off the branch. His eyes widened when he took a closer look.

Behind the Mewman, a group of five soldiers, each of them armed with a sharpened spear and a sharpened scowl, marched right behind. Even further behind, another squad of Mewman soldiers followed. The trail of soldiers reached all the way to the entrance of the forest, with several familiar faces lagging behind them all.

Buff Frog scowled. _Royals,_ he muttered in his head.

Buff Frog held his breath, the air sac in his throat engorged immediately. He tried to keep himself steady on the branch.

If the fall didn't kill him, it'd be a safe bet the Mewmans would.

The first soldier walked past the tree where Buff Frog hid, looking straight on ahead.

A bead of sweat ran down the side of Buff Frog's forehead. At that moment, he refused to breathe out. _Not yet._

The next cluster of knights walked straight on without batting an eye at the bush. So did the next grouping. The knight and the warnicorn strode past Buff Frog, their eyes intent with the path in front of them, rather than the bush.

Buff Frog finally let out his breath. He kept himself perched on the branch for a little while longer, biding his time until he was sure they had all left. He lowered himself from the branch, taking a look down to the next closest branch.

Suddenly, he picked up on a familiar voice.

"—hey Marco, check this out, there's something weird inside this—"

"MY BABIES!"

Erupting a tremendous roar, Buff Frog dove down. He tumbled onto the figure by the bush, rolling together across the forest floor. When they bumped into the side of a tree, the frog was perched on top of the blonde figure. She had her wand aimed straight at his face, half-star insignia glowing.

Buff Frog raised an eyebrow. "Star?"

Star lowered her wand. "Giant Frog Monster that keeps spying on me?"

Marco popped up in front, hands extended out.

Mewman soldiers encircled Buff Frog, spears at the ready. "Hands off the Royal Princess!"

Buff Frog's eyes widened.

"No, no, it's okay guys," Star said, holding her hands outwards towards the soldiers. "He's cool… I think."

The soldiers lowered their weapons. A few even moaned out in disappointment.

Marco lowered his stance as soon as he recognized who the frog was.

Star pointed towards Buff Frog. "You're still cool, right?"

"Ehm." Buff Frog shrugged. "Sure, I guess…"

"See, told ya guys."

King and Queen Butterfly sauntered towards their daughter, catching up to the other guards.

"Star, who is this"—King Butterfly leaned in closer towards Buff Frog for a better inspection—"overgrown, amphibious creature that's laying on top of you?"

As he hopped off of Star, Buff Frog groaned and stared daggers towards the King and Queen. He gently pushed the King back, even taking a slight step back for extra precaution.

Star looked to the ground and wiped the dust off herself. "That's uh…" She shifted closer to the frog and whispered, "Buff Frog, right?"

Buff Frog nodded. "Although I'd prefer if you'd call me Yvge—"

"Buff Frog!" Star slung her arm over the back of his neck. "This guy helped me rescue Marco back at the cast—"

At that moment, Marco shushed her.

Star noticed Marco pointing towards her mother. Immediately, Star shut herself up. "I mean, uh, he's just the friendly neighbourhood frog monster. Always, uh, bringing a smile on everybody's faces. Yeah…" Star kept nudging him with her elbow.

Buff Frog peered his towards Star. "Eh? Friendly, neighbourhood what?"

"Play, along," Star muttered through gritted teeth.

Queen Butterfly pitter-pattered her fingers along her shoulder, her lips forming a sharp scowl. "You realize assaulting a member of the royal family is punishable by dungeon time."

Buff Frog rolled his eyes. "I understand, but…"

"Or alternatively, you can attend a seminar on sensitivity and royal etiquette, hosted by the lovely queen herself," King Butterfly chimed in.

Buff Frog and Star froze in place. They shivered incessantly, feeling a chill rush down their spines.

Marco simply stared at both of them, a little bemused.

Buff Frog let out a heavy, sincere sigh. "I apologize for laying a finger on your daughter," he said, "but I did it in self-defence, on instinct."

"Instinct?"

Buff Frog walked towards the dense, verdant bushes a bit further away. The soldiers trailed behind him, still armed with their spears. Buff Frog pulled the extraneous branches and leaf coverings camouflaging the entirety of the fountain. As soon as Buff Frog tugged the fountain out for everyone to see, all the tadpoles that littered the inside opened their wide, beady eyes.

"My babies were here," Buff Frog explained, "I thought a predator was coming. I had to protect them."

Star hobbled towards the fountain. "So these were what was staring at me." A couple of the tadpoles blinked, before setting their eyes towards Star. "These are some pretty cute tadpoles." Star moved a hand closer to one of the tadpoles.

Buff Frog slapped her hand away. "No, my babies."

Star whimpered as she rubbed her arm.

"A father has to do what a father has to do," King Butterfly muttered, "I commend that." He turned towards his wife. "Moon, darling, I think it's best if we let him go."

"I was about say so too," the Queen replied. "The Dungeon's crowded enough as it is." She faced north, opening up her parasol. "Let's go gentlemen, we still have an expedition to complete."

King Butterfly's eyes widened. "That's correct," he said, "let's go men, haste makes waste!"

All the soldiers carried out their salutes to the King and Queen before they marched onwards down the forest path.

"Expedition?" Buff Frog asked.

"Yeah, we're off to find the missing piece of my wand," Star answered back, pointing to the empty space on the faceplate of the wand.

"I see." Buff Frog darted his eyes toward the wand, noticing the tiny little hearts that surrounded the edge of the Star. The missing shard still stuck out like a sore thumb. "I thought you destroyed it back at Ludo's castle."

"Yeah, I thought so too." Star twirled the wand in a circle, along her fingers. "But then the buff Italian unicorn came and fixed it, so it's all good, sorta."

"Eh?"

"It's a long story," Marco replied.

"Dah." Buff Frog kept staring at the wand. _Definitely looks a lot different from last time,_ he thought. "I guess Toffee's plan didn't work out in the end."

"Yeah, I guess so," Star said to herself. She looked over towards Buff Frog. "Wait, who's Toffee again?"

"The Lizard Lawyer Dude," Marco said.

"Oh yeah, him. Yeah, he was kinda creepy." The wand stopped twirling. Star grasped it with both hands. "Well, at least he's dead, I think."

"I mean, it's pretty hard to survive a massive blast to the face like that," Marco added.

"Well, we sorta did today." Star glanced over to the fountain, each tadpole back at her. "Now that all the messed up stuff is done with for the most part, what do you have planned now?"

"I'm a father now," Buff Frog replied. "I have children to feed and raise." He sat by the edge of the fountain, stroking the tadpoles' heads. "They can't do that by themselves yet."

Star gave him a slight smile. "That's pretty cool of you."

"I'm gonna miss you spying on Star and me every day," Marco said.

Buff Frog shrugged. "I can't spend time looking over you two, when I have babies of my own."

"Eh, true enough." Star heard her name called out from further away. "Anyways, nice seeing you again Buff Frog. We got a wand piece to find." She and Marco began their trek through the forest. "See ya!"

"Wait." Buff Frog stopped the two of them in their tracks. "If you're searching for something, there's a peculiar spot that you might want to check out. Right where Ludo's castle was. I think all of you will be surprised."

"It's been a rough couple of days," Marco said, "I don't think anything can surprise us now."

* * *

Everyone had their mouths wide open, as they kept staring at it.

"I don't remember this being here," Marco remarked.

"Neither do I," King Butterfly replied.

Star attempted to force some semblance of a smile. "Well, you know, a pleasant surprise never killed anyone... right?"

* * *

 **To Be Continued**


End file.
